It's Pumpkin Time in Tennessee!

In the early years of our marriage our finances were sometimes stretched,
because traditional farming lead us down a path of good years and bad years.
When our children were little, we began hosting birthday parties and and
often invited our kid's classes over for farm fun.  Soon we started making
a little money and we asked God, if this was what we were supposed
to do.  The answer was "YES!"  We never dreamed the journey God
would take us on and we have never regretted one minute.  Thousands
of school children later, we still love seeing those smiling faces.

September 27, 2011 we started field trips for the season.

These pumpkins were picked on September 10, 2011.

Happy pumpkins ready for happy kids!

Our first weekend to be open to the public is October 1st.

The pick-your-own patch will be open as well as the activity area.

Thank you Father for your faithful provisions!

Pray For Rain

The back of my Tahoe says it all.  It's been almost a month without

a measurable rain and the earth is getting a bit crispy. God must have

heard the prayers of everyone - tropical storm Lee is supposed to give us three

to five inches of rain in the next few days.  Maybe our prayers

need to be a little more specific!

Somehow, the pumpkins are surviving and they are beginning to

produce a fruit.  We have beehives on the farm to help pollinate the blossoms.  

The first flowers are almost always male. The pollen on these first male flowers

attracts bees and alerts them to the location of the blooming vines. By the time

the first female blossoms open, the bees' route is well established and the male

 flowers' pollen is transferred to the female flowers by the bees. Male flowers bloom

 for one day, then drop off the plants.

Look at the base of the blossom - the little round ball will eventually become a pumpkin!



Now you can see the pumpkin start to form and the dead bloom will soon fall off.

First the pumpkin is green, then it turns the perfect shade of orange.

We are always amazed and humbled at the miracle of

a simple seed producing such a bountiful fruit.

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground

and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces

many seeds.  The man who loves his life will lose it, while

the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for

eternal life."  John 12: 24, 25

Welcome to the Gentry Farm Blog!

Gentry’s Farm, Family Owned Since 1849

Allen & Cindy Gentry

Franklin, Tennessee

Life on a farm can be fun, unpredictable, exciting, tiring, joyful,

frustrating, praise worthy and humbling and that's just one day! 

We never worry though, there is nothing a little prayer can't fix.

In early July 2011, on a 98 degree day, Allen started planting

thousands of pumpkin seeds.  A week later, sixteen beautiful acres

of tiny plants started to grow in the hot summer sun.  We use

a 25 year old tractor and a $100 corn planter. The dirt can't

tell how expensive your equipment is!  Allen came in one day from

planting and I scolded him for getting too much sun.  His reply,

“Don’t worry, it’ll all wash off!”   He was covered in dirt!

Once the seedling breaks through the ground, the green leaves

begin to grow above the ground while tiny roots start to run under

ground.  The roots are in search of water and the leaves are looking for

the sun!  As soon as the pumpkins begin to grow, the weeds are

not far behind. 

Allen uses a cultivator to dig up the weeds and throw

dirt towards the plant to cover the weeds in the row.

This is what the pumpkin plants looked like on July 9th!

And this is what the plants look like on August 16th.

You can't even see the rows now!

Thank you Father for your faithful provisions!  Amen

"As long as the earth endures,

seedtime and harvest,

cold and heat,

summer and winter,

day and night,

will never cease."

Genisis 8:22